


The Edge of Our Hope

by ShiroRikiya



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: AHAHAHAHA, Jaeger Pilot! Akashi, Jaeger Pilot! Kuroko, Jaeger Pilots, Jaegers (Pacific Rim), Kaiju (Pacific Rim), Kinda, M/M, Pacific Rim! AU, dont expect anything, i dunno man, kuroko is angsty, this is shitty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-15 12:25:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9234881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShiroRikiya/pseuds/ShiroRikiya
Summary: “I’m sorry.”“What for?”“For this.”“There’s nothing to be sorry about."“I’m still sorry.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> There are probably a lot of wrong things in here but then again, I'm just pulling words out of my ass so, yeah. 
> 
> eh
> 
> :3

“Yes, Akashi, I know. Everything is set. Just wait a second,” Nijimura says before Seijuurou could even open his mouth and he raises his hand in a sign for Seijuurou to wait as his assistant shows him something on a tablet that he was holding. 

 

Seijuurou nods and stays where he is, looking around him and observing as other people scurried pas by them. 

 

A few moments later, Nijimura calls his attention and motions for Seijuurou to follows him. They walked through some hallways, soldiers saluting at them left and right as they passed by. 

 

As they walked through and empty hallway, Siejuurou finally asks the important question. 

 

“So, who’s going to be my new partner, Nijimura-senpai?” 

 

Nijimura glances at him for a second before returning his sight in front of them. “Excited, Akashi?”

 

“Well, when you had proposed that I find a new partner, I immediately started preparing myself for the long screening process only for you to say that it won’t be necessary at all, that you have already found the perfect partner for me. So, yes, I am a little excited and curios as to whom it will be.” 

 

“Hm.”

 

"So, who is it?”

 

“It’s Shadow.” 

 

At the mention of the name, Seijuurou comes to an abrupt halt, his eyes widening in disbelief. 

 

“ _The_ Shadow?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“No way…”

 

The Shadow. 

 

Everyone, even the most ordinary individual had heard of that name at least once. 

 

The Shadow is a Jaeger pilot just like Seijuurou but on a completely different level. Seijuurou couldn’t even begin to compare to him. The Shadow is considered a legend among them Jaeger pilots. No one knows who he is, his name or what he looks like except for Nijimura and a small maintenance crew that exclusively tends to The Emperor, the Jaeger that Shadow pilots alone.  
Shadow had piloted a Jaeger alone when he was only fourteen during the attack on Tokyo ten years ago. No one really knows how he did it or how he managed to survive the massive neural load, but he did and defeated a Category 4 Kaiju and saved Tokyo from total destruction. There were a few people who doubted the authenticity of it but Nijimura Senior, Nijimura Shuuzou’s father, had confirmed it and said that yes, it is true. 

 

Since then, Shadow had fought on the front lines, defending cities and annihilating any Kaiju that dares to attack humanity. Over the years, a lot of people came to idolize Shadow and some of them had started calling him The Strongest Soldier or The Last Hope and hundreds of people had demanded that he reveal himself, but Shadow had declined, wishing for his identity to be kept a secret. 

 

Seijuurou had fought alongside him on a few occasions and all that Seijuurou could say is that Shadow is an amazing pilot. He would’ve really liked to just watch as he kills Kaiju after Kaiju but Seijuurou has to fight too so he only gets glimpses of Shadow fighting off Kaiju’s. 

 

Seijuurou had looked up to him for years now, ever since the day that Shadow had saved Tokyo, so hearing that he’ll be Shadow’s partner is a great surprise for him, it’s as if his worst nightmare and his wildest dreams had come true at the same time. 

 

Will he even be able to help Shadow and not be a dead weight? 

 

“We’re here, Akashi.” 

 

Seijuurou didn’t exactly know what he was expecting when he entered the room and lifted his gaze to see the person who was standing in the middle of the room, he really didn’t. But whatever it was, he was sure that it was not this. 

 

He was not prepared at all to see _him_ of all people. 

 

It was Kuroko Tetsuya. 

 

The sky blue haired guy with feigned indifference in his eyes. The guy who Seijuurou thought was a Jaeger technician, but apparently not. The guy Seijuurou may or may not have a very embarrassing crush on. 

 

And Seijuurou is supposed to drift with him, share his memories and thoughts. 

 

Everything. 

 

Is he having a heart attack or what?

 

Nijimura’s quiet strides behind snaps Seijuurou from his chaotic thoughts and he struggles for a few seconds to get them back together. 

 

“Kuroko, this is Akashi Seijuurou. Akashi, this is Kuroko Tetsuya, the one you all call ‘Shadow,’” Nijimura gestures to Kuroko and him, eyeing the both of them carefully. 

 

Kuroko nods at him. 

 

“Nice to meet you, Akashi Seijuurou-san.”

 

 

###

 

 

“So, what’s the deal?” Seijuurou asks as he settles on the chair right next to Nijimura. 

 

“What deal?” Nijimura asks back and stares at Seijuurou. 

 

“You know what I mean, Nijimura-senpai. No one may have known who Shadow is and maybe that’s why they gave him that name but it’s a well known fact that Shadow has been piloting a Jaeger alone since he was fourteen. And I don’t think you just suddenly felt the need to make my dream of meeting Shadow come true. So, why the sudden change now?” 

 

Nijimura evaluates him for a moment and then sighs, looking like he’s forty years old instead of twenty-eight. 

 

“You have heard of Himuro Tatsuya, right?” 

 

“Yes, but what does he had to do with this?”

 

“For the past few years, Himuro Tatsuya and his team have been developing new circuitry suits to lessen the time delay between the command from the pilot and the execution of the Jaeger and to better sync their movements.” 

 

“Yes, I know that. The Jaegers that we all pilot are better than they were years ago.”

 

“You are also aware that every year, the time delay lessens a lot, right?” Seijuurou nods. “This year, Himuro Tatsuya and his brilliant team have managed to reduce the time delay to a second per minute. “

 

Seijuurou’s eyes widen. Lessening the time delay to only a second per minute could tremendously change everything. 

 

“And of course, before revealing this new find, it had to be tested first. So they modified The Emperor and Kuroko’s suit.” 

 

Seijuurou makes a face at Nijimura’s words. 

 

 _Like a lab rat._

 

“Don’t look at me like that, Akashi. We’re not using Kuroko like a guinea pig. He volunteered himself. I’m against it but he insists that he be the one to test out everything. He’s been the test subject for years now and every year, I try to convince him to at least take a break from the tests for a year but he’s more stubborn than you and all the pilots in this base combined.” 

 

Nijimura sighs again.

 

“Remember six months ago when four Category 3 Kaiju’s appeared and you and your partner Midorima, Aomine and Kise and Kuroko were sent and The Emperor had to pull back early because of some problems?” 

 

Seijuurou nods. “We were told that there were some mechanical issues with The Emperor.”

 

“Well, yes, that was the official report but that’s not what really happened.” 

 

Nijimura’s word catches Seijuurou’s attention and he stares, demanding wordlessly with the intensity of the sun. Nijimura stares back at him for a few seconds and sighs again. 

 

“The neural load was too much. Kuroko could barely make it back to the bay before he collapsed. He didn’t wake up for five days,” Nijimura sighs again and he pinches the bridge of his nose. “It seems like lessening the time delay to that extent multiplies the load tremendously and the only way to cope with it is to have at least three pilots sharing the neural load.”

 

“And this is where I come in?”

 

Nijimura nods. “Yes. Kuroko is not happy with all of this, not happy with someone that’s not me or the maintenance crew for The Emperor knowing who he is. He’s really obsessed with his privacy. And to be honest, I’m not happy with this, too. But there’s no other way.” 

 

Seijuurou takes a little bit of offence in Nijimura’s apparent dislike of him being Kuroko’s partner. 

 

“It’s not that I hate you Akashi, so wipe off that offended look on your face. It’s just that Kuroko’s situation is…special,” Seijuurou raises his eyebrows but Nijimura doesn’t elaborate and continues on. “And that’s why you’re here. Aside from Kuroko, you’re the best pilot around and I’m sure that you won’t have any trouble keeping up with Kuroko.” 

 

“But what if we’re not drift compatible? You’re not even letting us test each other before we try the drift. What if something goes wrong?” 

 

“You put too little faith in yourself, Akashi. We both know that you can accommodate and adjust yourself to match anyone. The only reason why Kise and Midorima didn’t last is because Kise is more in sync with Aomine because they’re childhood friends and Midorima’s tsundere tendencies only get dampened when he’s with Takao.” 

 

Seijuurou blinks twice, a bit weird out by Nijimura’s use of the word ‘tsundere.’ He never even thought that Nijimura knew the word. 

 

“Fine. I’ll give it a try.” 

 

 

###

 

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

Seijuurou blinks and turns to Kuroko, who was looking away. 

 

“What for?” 

 

“For this.”

 

Seijuurou turns to fully face Kuroko. 

 

“Kuroko, there’s nothing to be sorry about. It couldn’t be helped if the neural load is beyond your capacity.” 

 

Kuroko doesn’t turn to him. 

 

“I’m still sorry.” 

 

 

###

 

 

The drift starts and Seijuurou feels the beginning of the flow of his memories. Throughout the years of changing from partner to partner, Seijuurou had learned to put up a wall and hide the memories that he doesn’t want anyone to know, so he wasn’t really worried that Kuroko would know anything that he shouldn’t know. 

 

He goes through his memories in seconds. His mother’s gentle smile. His father’s cold expression. The first time he met his horse, Yukimaru. The comforting sounds as his mother played the piano as he practiced the violin. His mother’s warm hands as she patted his head. 

 

He feels the texture of the basketball in his hands and then everything explodes. 

 

All that there was, were the blood curdling screams, the heartbreaking sobs, the sounds of breaking bones and metal and Seijuurou falls in limbo. 

 

These are not his memories. 

 

Seijuurou tried to break away from it but everything was just constantly shifting and twisting and there was nothing he could ground his self on. 

 

Then everything stops and Seijuurou sees a young Kuroko kneeling besides a boy lying on the ground, breathing shallowly as blood pools around them. 

 

 _”Kuroko…make the world a better place…”_

 

The last thing that Seijuurou sees was the tears as they ran down Kuroko’s cheeks. 

 

And everything went black.

**Author's Note:**

> My friend came over during the new year to cheer me up and her way of cheering me up was to physically threaten me until I agreed to watch Pacific Rim again with her. So of course, AkaKuro Pacific Rim AU is gonna happen. 
> 
> I'm not really sure if I should continue this or not. 
> 
> eh


End file.
